Help. I don't very much about williams trains. the crown edition manufactured in the 80's and or 90's, i have a Big Boy and recently aquired a cab forward, the cab forward did not come with a tender, does anybody know if the tender from the big boy will work with the cab froward, i think there is electronics in the tender that comands the motor to operate, am i on the right track? and does anybody know where i might be able to aquire a tender for the cab foward, Jerry
Jerry Williams sold to Bachmann in late 2007, which means Bachmann would supply parts.
The Bachmann "Parts Team" can be reached by e-mail at parts@bachmanntrains.com, or by telephone at 1-800-356-3910. They should be able to reproduce the original documentation that was sent with the locomotive, or give you service information about the electrical system. I do not think the electrical system in these locomotives was particularly sophisticated, and my T1 at least has no sound system; I'd suspect they are using the tender wheels for electrical pickup -- and if so, yes, I'd think you could at least check the Big Boy's tender to see what (if anything) it contains, and yes, I'd think it would be electrically compatible with another articulated's motors and drive. (But don't send the cops to me if it doesn't work, and as typical for Internet advice YMMV... ;-} )
There are troves of parts from some online retailers, but I strongly suspect there would be few or no tenders produced by Williams for spare parts. That would leave eBay or similar sources, and I would think you would wait a very long time to see something like that come up (and that it would be pound-of-flesh expensive when it did). I don't model SP so I can't say whether another model, say of 4449, would give a shell or parts that would be prototypical. There is always the option of making a mold/casting of an original shell or of an appropriately correct tender from another maker, and providing a chassis for it.
Hello, thanks for the reply, (Don't worry there's no cops coming.) I attended the TCA york show over the weekend, had talked to a REP from Bachmann he had told me that the only things they picked up from Williams was the plastic trains, he continued to tell me that Williams had somebody else manufacturing the Crown Editions, he did say that they have no parts available for those trains, and that is where the conversation ended. i am going to use you suggestion and call for the parts dept to see if the might have any of the original documentation. after all i don't have anything to loose.
A little additional tinkering reveals that the Crown Editions usually have DC can motors. If you were going to run them 3-rail with Lionel AC power, you would need a bridge rectifier or similar circuitry -- and ensure no shorts on the locomotive.
So I suspect the board in the tender would be something like a 6A 50V min -- more V rating better in case of transients, spikes or impulse noise -- rectifier, with DC output going to a pigtail that matches an insulated connector at the rear of the locomotive. (I would also suspect that if the connector on the cab-forward matches that on your UP locomotive, yes, they should be electrically 'equivalent' for testing purposes.)
Overmod, I had no idea you were an "O" Gauger! Me too! Maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
And thanks for being gracious enough to answer the mans question. I've seen too many others blow off model train questions here with an "Ask Classic Toy Trains! You're on the wrong Forum!"
Guys, so what if the questioner's on the wrong Forum? If you can help him out, do so! Love of trains is a big tent, or it should be!
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